Improvement in car-brakes



1. Y. SMITH. Car-Brake.

N0, ]63.6l2; Patented May 25,1815.

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JOHN Y. SMITH, OF PITTSBURG, PENNSYLVANIA.

IMPROVEMENT IN CAR-BRAKES.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 1 63,612, dated May25,1875; application filed April 6, 1875.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, JOHN Y. SMITH, of Pittsburg, in the county ofAllegheny and State of Pennsylvania, have invented a new and usefulImprovement in Safety Attachments for Vacuum-Brakes for Railway-Oars andI do hereby declare that the following is a full, clear, and exactdescription of the same, reference being had to the annexed drawingsmaking part of this specification, in which Figure l is a plan view ofthe bottom of a car reversed, with my improvements applied, the brakesnot being applied. Fig. 2 is a similar view, showing the arrangement ofthe parts when the brakes are applied; Fig. 8, an elevation of part ofthe apparatus.

The same letters are employed in the indication of identical parts.

This improvement is intended to be applied to my vacuum-brake, and isdesigned to provide for the security of the train in case any of thecars should be separated from the train by accident or design, when, bythe strain upon a cord extending through the train from the locomotive,the brakes would be automatically set on the detached cars; or, shouldthe vacuum-brakes become inoperative, the engineer could instantly setall the brakes on the train by drawing the cord.

My invention consists in supplementing the diaphragms which bring theatmospheric pressure to act on the brakes by coiled springs attached tothe bottom of the cars, midway between the brake-levers, and con trolledby a ratchet and pawl to the latter of which a cord is attached in suchmanner that, when it is drawn upon the pawl, will release the spring",and the latter will set the brakes.

In the annexed drawings, I have shown, at A, the flexible diaphragmsused in operating the brake by exhaustion of the air. WVhen the air isexhausted, the heads are forced toward one another by the pressure ofthe external atmosphere, drawing with themselves the ends of the leversO, which are connected, by the usual system of rods and levers, with thebrakes. In order to provide against a failv ure upon the part of thediaphragms to operate from whatever cause, I place in the middle of theunder side of the floor of the car a spindle, E, having chains Dattached, extending therefrom to the same arm of the levers O to whichthe rods connecting it with the diaphragm are attached. Around thisspindle is placed a coiled spring of strength sufficient to set thebrakes with the required force. The spindle may be turned by a crankapplied thereto either through the floor of the car or from below. Whenthe spring is thus wound up it is held by a ratchet and pawl, G, thechains D being relaxed and hanging from the spindle to which they areattached when the spring is thus wound up without being wound upon thespindle. A lever, G is attached to the pawl, and a cord, G extended fromall the levers of the train to the cab within reach of the engineer orhis assistant. WVhen this cord is drawn upon, either by the engineer orby the separation of the cars forming the train, the pawls will bedetached, and the springs will cause the chains to be wound upon thespindle, thereby drawing the brakes against the wheels in the" samemanner as though done by the contraction of the flexible diaphragms. Thehand brake is attached to the other end of the levers G, operated in theusual manner.

In this arrangement I attach the hand-wheel to one end of lever O, andthe vacuum-chamher and spring to the other, so-thateither of the threemay be used, or all together, if rendered necessary by any emergency.

hat I claim as my invention, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is

In combination with the transverse lever G to operate the brakes of arailway-car, the hand-brake, the vacuum-chamber, and the spring forsetting the brake, substantially as set forth.

In testimony whereof I have signed my name to this specification in thepresence of two subscribing witnesses.

JOHN Y. SMITH.

Witnesses:

A. RUPPERT, D. P. HOLLOWAY.

